My Sister's Caretaker
by The Cheshire Cheese
Summary: How did both Delaney twins wind up serving aboard the same ship? What were their original allegiances—Maquis or Starfleet? And how did they respond to getting stranded in the Delta Quadrant? A shortie, set during "Caretaker."
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I don't own "Star Trek: Voyager."**

* * *

Jenny Delaney swallowed, as she stepped into the ready room. Out the windows, Jenny had a nice view of Deep Space Nine. She kept her eyes on the space station, half because she was too nervous to face the captain.

"Ensign Delaney."

Jenny almost jumped. Captain Janeway was at her desk, looking at Jenny over a PADD. The Victorian bun the captain sported made her seem even more intimidating. Jenny hoped she'd made herself looked presentable. Her dark curls were pulled back into a short, professional braid, and her green uniform was fresh out of the replicator.

"Captain." Jenny attempted a smile.

Janeway moved around her desk, and gestured to her sofa. "Have a seat Ensign."

"I think I'll stand, if that's all right."

Janeway nodded. "All right then."

Jenny's hands were entwined tightly behind her back. She was nervous—terrified actually—that the Captain would refuse her request.

"So," Janeway eyed a PADD in her hand. "You've requested to be transferred from the _U.S.S. Blackbird_ to _Voyager_, on personal grounds."

After a long pause, Jenny realized the captain was waiting for a response. "That's correct Captain."

The captain glanced back down at her PADD. She looked like she was about to ask an uncomfortable question.

"I don't want to pry into your personal life, Ensign. And if there's anything you aren't' comfortable telling me, you certainly don't have to. But know that the more _I_ know, the more comfortable I'll be accepting your request."

"I understand."

"If you'd tell me then, in your own words Ensign, why you've requested this transfer."

Once more, Jenny glanced out the window at Deep Space Nine. The station's Cardassian design reminded her painfully of the whole situation.

"If I may ask, Captain, what do you know already?"

Janeway set her PADD down on the desk. "I know that your full name is Jennifer Ephanine Delaney. You're 22 years old. You're from Earth, French Canada. You're a relatively recent graduate from the Academy, and the _Blackbird_ is your first assignment. You've served Captain T'Preem for five months, working work in stellar cartography. All of your Academy professors and senior officers aboard the _Blackbird_ speak highly of you." Janeway paused. "I also know that in your last year at the Academy, you sent a request into Starfleet, asking to be notified on any news regarding a member of the Maquis named Megan Delaney."

Jenny tried to imitate her Vulcan captain from the _Blackbird_, keeping her face devoid of emotion.

Janeway began to move back around her desk. "You're not the first person to make such a request to Starfleet. Families have been torn apart by this…situation." The captain stopped behind her desk, but didn't sit. "Unfortunately, Starfleet hasn't had the opportunity to honor most of those requests—the Maquis work in secrecy, and are usually pretty good at staying hidden. So if I have a chance to help you get news on your sister, I'll do everything in my power."

Jenny's blood was firing, as she fought to stay still. Was the captain gently telling her, _no, go home_?

"So you get word that your sister is serving aboard a Maquis ship that's being monitored by Starfleet, and that my crew's being sent to capture it, and now you've requested to transfer to Voyager." Janeway stared hard at Jenny. "I assume you understand that if and when we capture the Maquis crew, all members will be arrested, and probably sent to prison."

"Yes Captain."

Janeway finally sank into her seat. "I have to be blunt, Ensign. Your sister will be _lucky_ if she ends up in prison. We have a bit of a situation on our hands, with the Maquis vessel. We're not certain if anyone onboard is still alive at this point."

Jenny felt herself grow cold. Janeway's expression told her that she'd probably visibly gone pale.

"But," the captain added, "I'm an optimist. Perhaps it's wishful thinking, seeing as my security officer and old friend is also aboard that ship."

That hit Jenny like a splash of water. The captain suddenly seemed less frightening, more human.

"Ensign, I want to help you find your sister. You deserve to be reunited with her, as much as I do with my security officer. But I have to be certain that this is a decision I won't regret. As an officer aboard this ship I'll expect you to exercise the same objectivity as any other crewmember. We might find that the Maquis crew has been wiped out. We might find them alive, but be drawn into a battle with them. I need to know that you'll be prepared for the worst, and that you won't lose your sense of duty."

Jenny drew in a breath. She hoped this wouldn't sound snarky; it was the only defense she could come up with. "I didn't lose my sense of duty to Starfleet when my brother-in-law was killed by the Cardassians, or when my sister joined the Maquis. And I won't lose it aboard _Voyager_."

The captain searched Jenny's eyes, as if trying to read her.

"In that case," Janeway's mouth turned up into a small smile, "Welcome aboard Ensign Delaney."

It was a moment before Jenny was able to reply. "Thank you Captain," she stammered, and repeated, "Thank you so much!"

"Thank me after we've found the _Val Jean_." Janeway reminded her.

* * *

On her first day aboard _Voyager_, Jenny combated the fear and anticipation of finding Megan with the excitement of being aboard a new ship. She spent her free time walking through the corridors, building a map in her head, and getting to know her shipmates. She met Dr. Anders, and his Vulcan nurse T'Pai. (The Vulcan somehow managed to be more pleasant than the disgruntled human doctor.)

Jenny started to make new friends. One who stuck out was a cute, Asian-American man named Harry Kim. He was with a taller, brown-haired man named Tom Paris. They talked for a few minutes about their experiences at Starfleet Academy, before going separate ways. Then Jenny met the chief engineer, pleasant, soft-spoken Bolian woman named Lt. Tarrotz. When Jenny mentioned Tom and Harry to Tarrotz, the engineer's sky-blue face seemed to take on an uncomfortable expression.

"What is it Lieutenant?" Jenny asked.

Tarrotz didn't meet her eye. "It's nothing." The Bolian smiled. "It's good you're getting to know your shipmates, Ensign. Keep meeting people. Make friends, and don't judge."

Jenny bid the engineer goodbye, and made for the mess hall. She hadn't planned on eating lunch this early, but she was now eager for the gossip on Paris or Kim—whichever was the one Tarrotz didn't want her to "judge"—and Jenny had a feeling that the mess hall was the place to get it.

After replicating herself some pasta, she picked out a table of people who seemed engrossed in a particularly enthusiastic conversation. A young Bajoran girl with brown hair and large eyes; an equally young man, who would've looked like a Hispanic human, save the Trill spots that ran down his neck; and a slightly older human man, with red hair.

Stopping in front of the table, Jenny asked smoothly, "May I join you?"

The redhead sized Jenny up with a grin. "Sure!"

She took a seat. "Jenny Delaney."

The redhead reached across the table to shake her hand. "Austin Sullivan." He had a British accent. "Call me Sully, off-duty of course."

The Bajoran introduced herself, "Tal Celes."

"Eem Biagan," the Trill said.

They conversed briefly about their job duties, and what they'd been doing before Voyager. Tal and Eem were fresh out of the Academy. Sully had served aboard the Jupiter station, Deep Space 2, Deep Space 7, and three different starships; he admitted to having a bad habit of "hopping jobs," forever in search of what was right for him. Tal Celes was one of many Bajorans who went against tradition, and put the individual name before the family name, like humans and most other species did, making her professional name "Crewman Celes." Eem, like most Trill, was not joined; but he hoped that by accomplishing something on Voyager, he might earn the Trill counsel's attention and be considered for a symbiont.

When the opportunity presented itself, Jenny asked, "So what's the big deal with Tom Paris and Harry Kim?"

Tal looked confused, but Eem and Sully both took on somber expressions.

"I don't know about the other guy," Eem said darkly, "But I've heard about that Tom Paris. He was pulled out of prison to help Janeway track down the Maquis."

Jenny and Tal looked at each other, then back at Eem.

"So, what," Tal said, "He's serving aboard a starship, instead of serving time in prison…? You can do that?"

"No." Sully said. "He's getting released _early_ from prison, for helping us with this one mission. Paris is a Maquis, that Starfleet captured."

Tal's eyes widened. "_Paris_ is a Maquis…?"

Jenny's eyes also widened, but not out of horror. "Interesting." She stirred her pasta. "Don't think I've ever met a criminal before." _Well, aside from Megan…_

Tal shook her head. "But what makes Paris so special? What's he got on this one Maquis ship?"

"He _served_ with them." Sully explained. "He was a member of Chakotay's crew. Didn't get along with him though, from what I hear. No surprise Paris is helping us capture him."

Jenny almost dropped her fork. "_Paris served on the ship we're after_?"

Sully nodded. "Yeah. Like I said, he was a member of Chakotay's crew. I hear-talk he was more of a mercenary for hire though, not really into the Maquis 'cause' and all that."

Eem said in a low voice, "Didn't Paris get kicked out of the Academy, for killing three other pilots…?"

"And then _lying_ about it." Sully added. "Makes me sick."

In any other situation, Jenny would have had a whole mountain of conflicting opinions on Tom Paris. But today, all she cared about was that Paris had been on that ship with her sister.

Tal misunderstood Jenny's reaction, and assured her, "I'm sure Starfleet wouldn't have Paris aboard Voyager if he could be any kind of threat." She shrugged. "I talked to him, he seemed a decent enough person."

Sully shook his head, wrinkling his nose. "Why are so many of the girls sayin' that?"

"The fairer sex is a little too forgiving, sometimes." Eem muttered.

This changed the subject to a discussion about sexism and stereotypes, which Jenny didn't really partake in. When Tal made a point, Jenny nodded or said "Yeah," without really listening.

_Paris_, she had to have a word with Paris. Find out of Megan had been alive when he'd last seen her. If she was okay. If she'd changed.

Jenny's duty shift began in twenty minutes. She wolfed down her pasta, and bid her new friends goodbye. As she hurried down the hall to her station, her mind was racing.

As soon as her shift was over, as soon as it was over, Jenny would talk with Tom Paris. Actually, she could call him on her com badge right now, but she feared that would get her into trouble—contacting another shipmate on-duty, for a personal call. She had to prove to Captain Janeway that she was a professional, not losing her objectivity. When her shift ended…then again, when did _Paris's_ shift end?

Jenny never made it to her station. She was almost there, hurrying down the hall, when Janeway's voice suddenly bellowed from her com badge:

"_All hands: brace for impact_!"

* * *

The reality of Janeway's warning had hit harder than Jenny could ever have imagined.

The hallway was filled with smoke. Alarms were flaring. Through the fog, Jenny made out the shape of a motionless body across the hall from her. Nearby, someone was coughing. She turned and saw an elderly black man in a green uniform, his gray hair spotted with blood. She pulled him up, and helped him on to sickbay.

Not surprisingly, sickbay was already pretty packed. Jenny led the older man through the crowd, searching for a place where she could sit him down. Something on the floor made her stop suddenly. Two bloody, mangled bodies, that someone had pulled over and lain carefully against the wall. Doctor Anders and Nurse T'Pai. Both had their eyes closed, probably by the person who'd dragged them there. Next to Jenny, the old man sighed, also looking at the bodies.

"Minor concussion," a voice made Jenny and her shipmate jump.

A bald man in a green uniform was scanning the old man's injury. The doctor (_was_ he a doctor?) swapped his tricorder for another tool, and quickly healed the injury. The motion was fast and perfect, it almost wasn't…human.

The old man croaked, "You the emergency medical hologram?"

"I am." The hologram replied flatly. "Next!"

Jenny and the old man swapped a glance, while the hologram moved on to another patient.

"Nice bedside manner," Jenny muttered.

In the midst of the pandemonium, Jenny suddenly saw Paris, with Harry Kim. They seemed to be helping the holo-doc treat injuries. She made sure the elderly man could stand on his own, before rushing over to Tom Paris.

"Pairs!"

He looked up over the crowd at her.

"Paris I need to talk to you, now."

Paris was treating a half-conscious woman on a biobed.

"Little busy at the moment," Paris returned his attention to his patient.

Speaking as quickly and clearly as she could, Jenny said, "I have a sister aboard Chakotay's ship. Megan Delaney."

Paris almost stopped his work, but caught himself. "Delaney…" he squinted. "Sorry, I gotta focus on my patient here…there's a Delaney on the ship….more of a science, engineer-type, not always up on the front line…"

Harry Kim glanced at Jenny for a moment, before forcing his attention back to his own patient.

"You're not just saying that?" Jenny asked Paris desperately.

"I may be many things," Paris said smoothly, "But I'm not a liar." He paused, running his dermal regenerator up his patient's neck. "Delaney was fine last I saw her."

Kim and Paris finished with their patients, and began to help another onto a biobed.

Before Jenny could ask Paris another question, everything vanished, in a gold hum.

And suddenly, Jenny was in a sunny field.

Her shipmates stood around her, looking as confused as she was. They were on a…farm? It looked like the entire crew was here.

"Don't believe your eyes Mr. Paris," she heard Janeway say, for the benefit of everyone else as well as Paris. "We've only transported a hundred kilometers. We're inside the array."

Kim added, "There's no indication of stable matter. All this must be some kind of holographic projection."

Suddenly, a middle-aged woman dressed like a farmer's wife approached the captain with a tray of corn.

"Oh, you poor things. You must be tired out. Come on and sit down and rest awhile. Have a cold drink, hmm?"

"No, thank you." Janeway was taking this a lot better than Jenny was. "My name is Kathryn Janeway, captain of the Federation Starship Voyager—"

The woman cut her off. "Now, just make yourselves right at home. The neighbors should be here any minute—_Oh_! Why, here they are!"

A group of people dressed like some cartoonish stereotype of farmers emerged from the trees.

"This isn't real," a man near Jenny whispered. "Right?"

Jenny shook her head. "I grew up on a farm in Quebec. _Any_ idiot who thinks this represents actual farm life—"

Jenny was cut off by a loud banjo, being played by an old man.

While taking in the bizarre scene, she spotted Tal Celes.

"Tal!" Jenny ran towards her friend.

The Bajoran turned, and hurried over to meet Jenny in the middle.

"Jenny!" Tal gasped. "Oh thank the Prophets you're alright. Sully's dead."

"S—" Jenny didn't even allow herself to ask the question. "What about Eem? Have you seen…?" she trailed off, when she caught the somber glance of a shipmate standing behind Tal.

"Eem Biagan?" the man (an Asian human in a green uniform) asked nervously.

Jenny swallowed and nodded.

"I tried to get him to sickbay," the man stared ahead at her. "He didn't make it."

Eem and Sully, who she'd just seen—Eem, fresh out of the Academy—joined Voyager to get a symbiont, to live forever, and instead—

"What," Tal stammered to the man, "What happened?"

"I don't know—one minute we were working…"

Jenny couldn't even pay attention to the man's testimony of her new friend's death. The unfairness of it all—Eem wouldn't get his symbiont, Sully wouldn't get to "find himself"—and if they didn't get those things, she suddenly realized, then there was no cosmic reason, none at all, that Jenny should get to find her sister.

"Tal!" she suddenly interrupted the man's story. "I, I need you to do something for me,"

"Move around," the captain suddenly announced, over the banjo music and laughter of dancing hillbillies. "Scan the area. See if you can find anything that might be a holographic generator."

Tal and Jenny grouped up with the man they'd been talking to, who introduced himself as Crewman Haru Saito. They continued their conversation, as they combed the farm.

"What were you going to tell me before, Jenny?" Tal asked.

"I have a sister," Jenny kept her eyes on her tricorder and the farm ahead of her, as they walked. "Megan Delaney. She's a Maquis, aboard the _Val Jean_. I transferred to _Voyager_ to help catch her. If I don't make it, I want someone to tell her," Jenny stopped, realizing she had no idea what she wanted Megan to know. "Just tell her I was here."

Saito watched Jenny, speechless.

Tal gave a curt nod, and said, "I'll tell her, if it comes to that."

Jenny was momentarily surprised by how well Tal took the news. But then she recalled that as a Bajoran, the poor girl had probably lived in a Cardassian labor camp, and heard tragic stories like this many times before.

"So," Jenny changed the subject. "Did we lose any other shipmates I should know about?"

Saito looked down. "I heard we lost the chief engineer."

Jenny looked up sharply, and exchanged a glance with Tal. She glanced around the farm, and didn't see any blue faces.

"Commander Cavit and Lt. Stadi," Tal added after a moment. "I heard they were killed on impact."

Jenny figured it was her turn, and added, "Dr. Anders and Nurse T'Pai."

They searched the farm, and found nothing but a pen of goats, a fire pit filled with (delicious smelling) roasted corn, and two ungentlemanly hicks who kept asking Tal and Jenny for a dance. Tal sighed in frustration. Saito reached out to pet one of the goats. Before his hand touched its fur, they were suddenly beamed away again, in that gold hum.

Jenny's head felt heavy. She couldn't move. She couldn't even lift her eyelids. Her entire body felt tingly, and stiff. A sharp pain entered her abdomen, as something thin and cold drove into her. She heard a tiny sound begin to form in her throat, but stopped short of crying out. Someone else was screaming—a young man, whose voice sounded vaguely familiar. Jenny was terrified, because she had been searching for something extremely important that she now might not find, and she couldn't for the life of her remember what it was.


	2. Chapter 2

**I don't own "Star Trek: Voyager."**

* * *

Megan Delaney groaned. She felt like someone had gone at the back of her skull with a pickax. She pushed herself up, and felt the back of her head. Her short hair was damp with blood. She squinted a couple times, and then glanced around.

She was in the engineering room of the _Val Jean_. It was dark; the power was partially down. The ship looked like it had taken a beating; she recalled their chase through the Badlands, and the damage they'd suffered as the Cardassians fired at them. But the battle was apparently over. The ship was still, save the men and women who moved around helping up the wounded, checking pulses, and working at panels.

Seska was nearby, lying on her side. The Bajoran blinked awake, pressing a hand to her head. "Delaney." She stared at Megan, pursing her long lips. "What happened?"

Megan staggered up, and brushed herself off. "A battle…the Badlands…Cardassians…nothing new."

Seska frowned, and slowly rose. "I don't feel like I have any injuries, besides this throbbing headache."

"Neither do I," Megan realized. And then, something hit her memory. "I had a wicked dream…I _think_ it was a dream."

Seska was staring at her, eyes wide under her fierce eyebrows. "What about?"

Megan shook her head. "I can't remember. I just know it was…surreal."

Commander Chakotay suddenly appeared in the doorway. The bridge was just down a short hallway; it was a small ship. The Commander was breathing heavily. He scanned the room, his eyes falling on a few bodies that lay lifeless.

Chell, a Bolian whose brown Maquis uniform clashed oddly with his blue skin, was taking the pulse of a fellow shipmate. He looked up at Chakotay and said, "She's dead." He rose to his feet, and added soberly, "So're Lorak and Maguire."

Chakotay's eyes darted around the bodies. Megan could see him force his gaze away from his fallen crewmembers, and back to the living. "Is Torres down here?"

He was met with shaking heads, and mumbles of "No."

Seska, Torres' best friend, looked sharply at Chakotay. "I thought she was up on the bridge with you and Tuvok!"

"She was. She's not anymore." Chakotay suddenly turned to Megan. "Delaney. You've got experience in stellar cartography, right?"

"A bit," she admitted. "Why, we lost?"

"You could say that. Follow me."

Megan followed Chakotay to the bridge. Seska was close behind, despite the fact that Chakotay had given her no orders to accompany them. Ayala and Tuvok were at their stations, working intently.

The Vulcan glanced up at Megan. "I have double checked my readings, Delaney. But you may wish to confirm them."

Megan took a look at Tuvok's readings, and her eyes widened. "That's _impossible_."

"What?" Seska came around.

Megan breathed in. "We're 75,000 light years from the Alpha Quadrant. We're on the other side of the galaxy…decades from home."

Seska's lips parted slowly. Chakotay blinked and swallowed. Tuvok…was Tuvok.

"Hang on," Ayala was working at some wires in the ceiling. "Just…one…"

The lights suddenly flared on, as power returned.

"Computer!" Chakotay barked. "Locate B'Elanna Torres."

The computer replied, in its low, androgynous voice, "B'Elanna Torres is not onboard."

The Maquis wore little badges, similar to the communication badges worn by Starfleet officers, which could be used to speak to each other long-distance and be kept track of by their ships' computers. But the Maquis' badges were smaller, and usually worn out of sight. (Megan's was under her black leather vest.)

Seska looked mortified. "We're 75,000 light-years from the Alpha Quadrant, _and_ Torres is missing?"

"So it would seem." Tuvok confirmed.

Chakotay was about to say something, when the Vulcan suddenly cut him off.

"Commander, there are two vessels within range. One appears to be of alien origin. The other…" Tuvok's voice raised slightly, in surprise. "…is Federation." The Vulcan continued his scans. "Correction; the first is not a vessel, but some kind of space station, or array."

"_Federation_?" Megan's stared at Tuvok. "I thought we were sev—"

Chakotay glanced at her. His expression was soft, but she took the hint and canned it.

Turning back to Tuvok, Chakotay said, "On screen."

Against the stars floated a bizarre alien structure, than reminded Megan of some complex satellite. "Array" seemed like the right word. Nearby, in clear view, was that Federation vessel. It was a smaller one, with some newer, sharp design. Megan decided she liked the older, rounder designs much better. In fact, that ship was downright ugly.

Tuvok was eyeing the commander. "Orders, sir?"

Chakotay thought it over. "Continue repairs. Keep a lock on both the Federation ship, and that alien…array. Seska, Delaney, get back to engineering, they could use your help."

"Aye sir." Megan turned.

Seska was standing there, staring at the screen in disbelief. Megan grabbed the Bajoran woman's arm. "Come on."

Seska blinked and turned, following Megan back to Engineering. As they moved down the short hall, the commander's voice came over the com.

"_Chakotay to all hands: we've got a situation. We've somehow been flung to the other side of the galaxy. We're 75,000 light-years from the Alpha Quadrant._"

Heads turned. Chell and Kenneth Dalby exchanged a shocked glance. Igor Yosa's jaw dropped.

"_What_?" Mariah Henley hissed.

"_We're in front of some kind of alien structure, and a Federation vessel is in range—they seem to have suffered about as much damage as we have. We've got no idea what's going on, but we'll keep you posted. In the meantime keep working on repairs._"

The controlled, almost monotone voice Chakotay used to deliver the news might've made it even harder to believe.

Henley was shaking her head. "How can he say all of that, with such a straight—?"

"It's kind of his job," Megan sighed.

They worked for about five minutes, before Chakotay appeared in the doorway once again. "T'Vora, Tabor."

T'Vora, a Vulcan female, and Tabor, a Bajoran male, looked up.

"I need you two to take the bridge for me." Now addressing everyone, Chakotay explained, "Tuvok, Ayala and I are beaming over to the Federation vessel to discuss our situation." Seeing Seska's shocked expression, he added, "We'll arm ourselves naturally. Till then, keep working. No one makes any moves against the Starfleet or alien vessel until I say so."

Seska began to argue, "What if—"

"_Understood_?"

Megan nodded for Seska, feeling almost embarrassed by the other woman's back-sassing. The Bajoran argued almost as much as Torres, and Torres was half-Klingon. What was Seska's excuse?

Chakotay had something else to add. "B'Elanna Torres is missing. The Starfleet ship's missing a crewmember too. We're going to work together to find our people." Raising his voice just slightly, he finished, "We're Maquis, our enemies are the Cardassians. Not Starfleet."

T'Vora and Tabor took over the bridge, while Chakotay, Tuvok and Ayala moved through engineering, and down another hall, to the weapons bank. Megan tried to focus on her work, but couldn't help wondering which vessel out there frightened her more—the alien one, or the Starfleet one? She'd feared incarceration by Starfleet for so long now that it almost overshadowed the natural fear she should have of being 75,000 light-years from home. Well, at least she wasn't alone. At least her friends, and Commander Chakotay, were all—

Megan froze. "I remember my dream. Part of it anyway."

Seska looked up from her station by the warp core.

"We were all here," Megan folded her arms. "We were asleep, or in a hospital, or—"

"A laboratory." Lon Suder said suddenly.

The tiny, gray-haired Betazoid was crouched over a guttered wall panel, working alongside Michael Jonas.

Megan, Seska, and Jonas looked at each other. Suder's huge black eyes were moving down towards the ground, as he thought it through.

"I remember that too," Jonas agreed, apparently just realizing at he was saying it. "We were in a long room, we were all on slabs."

Everyone else in the tiny engine room was frozen, staring at each other.

Seska looked sickened. "Oh god."

"_Really_?" Henley threw her head back. "As if things couldn't get any worse for us—_alien abduction_?"

Marina Jor, Tabor's close friend, stammered, "It could be worse."

Yosa added, "At least the Borg haven't shown up."

"Don't jinx us!" Megan hissed, unsure if she herself was joking.

* * *

Jenny worked at her station in Voyager's lower decks, punching her controls a bit harder than necessary. Tal Celes, who'd volunteered to help her, took notice.

"I'm sure Megan's fine," Tal offered lamely.

Jenny's jaw clenched. "She was _right there_ Tal. She was on that array! And she's right over there on that ship—well," she laughed bitterly, "assuming she _survived_ the trip over here. Or wasn't killed by Cardassians two months ago."

After the Voyager crew had awoken back onboard, Janeway had kept them all updated, as she met with the Maquis captain, reunited with her missing security chief, visited the "Caretaker" on the array, and sought help from an alien native to this region of space" Jenny hadn't seen Commander Chakotay, Lt. Tuvok, or Neelix (as the friendly alien was called) yet. She'd been kept busy below decks, helping to make repairs.

"I can't help but wonder," Jenny began. "This is probably ludicrous. But I almost wonder if the captain's kept me down here on purpose, to keep me from jeopardizing the mission, or something."

Tal shook her head. "Captain Janeway has a crew of something like 150 to worry about. She's probably forgotten all about—oh, I didn't mean it like that."

"I know what you meant," Jenny said quietly. "She probably hasn't had time to think about it. With us lost, and Harry," Jenny pressed her palm to her forehead. "As if Eem, Sully, and Lt. Tarrotz weren't enough…" she slammed her fist into the wall. A lump was forming in her throat, but she refused to let any tears surface.

"When I was seven," Tal said suddenly, "My mother and I were taken away from my father and brother. We spent five years, apart, in separate camps. I kept count of the days that went by without Father and Yojan, until counting seemed pointless. By time I was entering teenage-hood I'd just assumed they were both dead. Someday I'll tell you the whole story. But when the Bajoran resistance liberated our camp, and we were able to get news of the outside world, and we found out that they were both alive…"

Tal was leaning against the wall, with her arms folded. Jenny was giving the Bajoran her full attention, feeling taken aback.

"My point is, we've only been out here for a couple days." Tal finished. "You have time."

Jenny's voice was cracking slightly. "Which we might run out of any minute out here."

* * *

Chakotay returned to the Val Jean, and gathered his crew in the engine room (the biggest room on the ship). The commander was breathing heavily, looking disturbed. Megan noticed that Ayala was standing near Chakotay, but Tuvok was nowhere in sight.

Tabor asked the question first: "Where's Tuvok?"

Chakotay looked at Tabor, then at the rest of his crew. "I'll start from the beginning. Our ship entered the Badlands to escape the Cardassians. We were pulled from the Badlands by a powerful alien who lives out here. The U.S.S. Voyager was assigned to capture us, and came into the Badlands looking for us. The same thing then happened to them, they were abducted and brought out here, alongside us." Chakotay was often hard to read, keeping his emotions almost as guarded as a Vulcan's, but one could see he was angry right now—very angry—and trying as hard as he could not to let it show to his crew. "Voyager's been monitoring our ship for some time. They've had a spy onboard."

Megan saw Seska visibly go pale.

"Tuvok," Chakotay continued, "Is a Federation agent."

Seska let out a breath. Megan felt sympathy for her; the Bajoran was so enthusiastic about the Maquis cause, of course she'd take Tuvok's betrayal hard. Megan herself was surprised, but now realized that she shouldn't be. A Vulcan, someone who wouldn't be expected to show any emotion, would be the perfect candidate for a double agent.

The mention of Starfleet didn't anger Megan like it did some others, but it saddened her. The last she'd heard, her baby sister (by seven minutes) was serving aboard a Federation ship. Megan despised Cardassians, and felt for the Maquis cause, but couldn't hate Starfleet, because she associated it with her sister. The sister who she might never see again.

"So," Tabor said suddenly, speaking to Chakotay, "When you say Voyager came to capture us, they were also coming to retrieve Tuvok."

Chakotay nodded.

"So," Mariah Henley shrugged snidely. "You just…gave the Vulcan back to the Federation captain?"

"Tuvok was doing his duty as a Starfleet officer." Chakotay sounded like he was trying to convince himself as much as anyone else. "We're not going to hold this against him right now—we can't afford to. We've got bigger problems on our hands. Captain Janeway and I have agreed to work together to find our missing people. B'Elanna Torres, and Harry Kim, a young man who was taken from the Federation ship."

Dalby demanded, "And what happens after we all finish working together and get back home to Earth? This Captain Janeway will put in a good word for us with Starfleet, so we only get _half_ a lifetime in prison?"

Chakotay nodded honestly. "Something like that." He placed a hand on his hip. "I personally don't plan on letting Janeway take us in so easily. We're gonna have an escape planned, by the time we're back home. But we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, Janeway is our ally."

Megan often took the role of the diplomat, having a less fiery personality than many of the other Maquis. Figuring one was needed now, she said to Chakotay, "If you trust him Commander, that's good enough for me."

"Her." Chakotay corrected. "Captain Kathryn Janeway."

Seska didn't seem to like that bit of information.

"There's something else." Chakotay looked like he was about to deliver the _really_ bad news. "I don't want this to affect anyone's duty. I'm only telling you because you have the right to know." He paused. "Tom Paris is aboard Voyager."

A couple jaws dropped. Other faces just looked mildly surprised. Some people had stronger opinions of Paris than others, the only mutual agreement being that most of the crew didn't like him. Megan personally didn't think Paris was worth wasting her hatred on—she saved that for the Cardassians—but she was certainly not a fan of his.

"He's a member of Janeway's crew," Chakotay said, "And I'll treat him with the same respect as any other member of her crew. I expect the same from any of you." There was silence, for several moments. Finally, Chakotay finished, "Let's get back to repairs."

Mariah Henley sighed. "What I wouldn't give for another battle right now."

"I wouldn't say that," Megan muttered. "With a Federation ship twice our size right next door."


	3. Chapter 3

**I don't own "Star Trek: Voayger."**

* * *

Mariah got her battle alright. But—to Megan's relief—it wasn't against the Federation ship. Apparently, this was a hostile region of space. Some aliens called the Kazon were attacking _Voyager_ and the _Val_ _Jean_. The attack came after Chakotay had ventured to the planet's surface with Janeway and a few others, to rescue Torres and Kim. Chakotay returned to the ship with Torres, but there was no time for anyone to greet their chief engineer. The entire fell back into action, almost out of instinct.

Megan had been doing this so long now, she almost didn't think about it. She was privately relieved that it was a space battle. Despite wanting to help out in the war, Megan still got frightened during battles, and felt safer fighting from inside a ship, rather than ducking phaser blasts on a planet or asteroid.

Torres, who'd been on the bridge, suddenly burst into engineering. "Everyone prepare to evacuate to _Voyager_!"

"That _Federation _ship?" Seska spun from her station at the warp core to stare at Torres.

"No," the half-Klingon snapped, "The Klingon ship. _Yes_ the Federation ship!"

"What fo—?"

"_Because Chakotay said so_. Let's move!"

The engineers spread to clear a path for Torres, as she hurried over to a consol on the wall. She activated the transport, and they were beamed off of the Val Jean.

They rematerialized in a large dark room lined with crates.

Seska gave Torres look that was almost a glare. "Did Chakotay _tell_ you to beam us into a cargo bay?"

"I just took us to the biggest empty space I could find," Torres panted.

The doors of the cargo bay opened, to reveal a cluster of gold-uniformed security guards, brandishing phasers.

"Maquis crew," a brown-haired man said sternly, "You're to remain in this space, until further notice. My name is Lt. Walter Baxter, and I'll be—"

"Let us help you!" Torres interrupted him. "Our captain's over there risking his life for you, he's going to sacrifice our ship to help yours!"

Baxter hit his com badge, his eyes locked on Torres. "Baxter to bridge: the Maquis might want to help us against the Kazon."

"It's me Starfleet!" Torres shouted at Baxter's badge. "It's B'Elanna Torres!"

"_Let Torres up here_," a young man's voice replied, from Baxter's badge. "_I trust her._"

"What about the others?" Baxter asked.

"_If any of them wanna help, let them_."

"I do." Megan stepped forward, coming up next to Torres. Turning back to the other Maqius, she added, "This is what we became Maquis for, isn't it? To help people?"

Jor hurried over, followed by Tabor and T'Vora. The entire crew came forward, some more eagerly than others. Henley, Dalby, Chell, and Suder brought up the rear, looking unenthused. As the Maquis spread out around the ship, they were all met with Starfleet officers, some looking welcoming and others suspicious.

"You got a stellar cartography section on this ship?" Megan asked one of the Starfleet officers.

"We do," the woman replied. "I'll take you down there."

* * *

Jenny tried not to think about anything but her work, but was failing miserably.

The Maquis ship had been battling the Kazon.

Now the Maquis were onboard _Voyager_.

If she could just survive _this_ one battle—

The doors of the tiny room Jenny and Tal worked in slid opened, and two other women entered. One was some gold-suited ensign Jenny hadn't gotten the chance to meet yet. The other was a Maquis, with dark hair short enough for her to be mistaken for a man.

The Maquis woman strode into the room, speaking rapidly. "I have experience in stellar cartography, and a bit in eng…" she stopped abruptly when she saw Jenny.

Both twins stared at each other. Megan hadn't seemed to have changed a day, aside from her hair and clothes. She wore an earthy colored Maquis garments, with a black leather vest and high matching boots. Her hair was cropped into something almost resembling a buzz cut. Her large eyes fell down to Jenny's uniform, just for a moment, before coming back up to her sister's face. Megan was frozen with shock. She hadn't known Jenny was coming after her, so naturally, the odds of her sister winding up on this ship must've seemed astronomical.

Jenny lunged forward and embraced her twin. Megan gasped, and grabbed her back.

"J-Jenny," Megan swallowed. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"Coming after you, Stupid." Jenny sniffled. "I transferred to Voyager as soon as I heard they were going after you."

Megan was silent a moment, as the pieces all fell into place for her. "Voyager was sent to capture us. We get abducted, and you come after us."

"And now here we are." Jenny finished.

The sisters pulled apart, and Jenny remembered that Tal and the ensign were still in the room. Tal was watching them, looking overjoyed for Jenny. The ensign looked as shocked as Megan.

The ship shook, with another blast from the Kazon.

Megan quickly moved to a consol. "Okay let's get to work…!"

* * *

The battle had been a blur, as the twins set aside their emotional baggage to focus on their task. The news of the Caretaker's death, and Janeway's decision to destroy the Array, had come as a nasty shock to most everyone onboard.

Ironically, Jenny was the one who thought Captain Janeway was out of line, while Megan was more sympathetic. Jenny paced her quarters, ranting about it, while Megan sat on the sofa, listening.

"There wasn't _any_ other way she could've kept the Ocampa safe? They're gonna die out anyway, without the Caretaker! What the hell was she thinking—now us _and_ the Ocampa are screwed!"

"The Ocampa live and die a lot faster than we do," Megan pointed out. "By the time they run out of supplies from the Caretaker generations will have passed for them. They might've developed some other methods of survival. Janeway was choosing between our _individual_ lives and _generations_ for the Ocampa."

Jenny groaned through her teeth, and collapsed onto the couch next to her twin. "Megan, we're never going to see Mom or Dad again, or Seth," Seth was their stepfather (their parents were divorced). "Pier or Marius," their step brother and half-brother. "She had the power to get us home to them, and she threw it away."

Megan looked down at her hands folded on her lap. "Maybe I'm seeing in a little differently, because I've been prepared to die for a few years now. And because I've barely been in contact with you and the family anyway."

Jenny sat up, shoving her curls out of her face. "Why hell did you join the Maquis?" she'd asked the question a hundred times, in letters and in monitor conversations. "It won't bring Avi back from the dead."

Megan gave her the same answer she always had. "I wanted to make a difference."

* * *

"_We're alone, in an uncharted part of the galaxy. We've already made some friends here... and some enemies. We have no idea of the dangers we're going to face. But one thing is clear: both crews are going to have to work together if we're to survive_."

Megan and Jenny stood next to each other in a corridor near the bridge. The entire crew—newly assembled—stood at attention, in clean uniforms, listening to the captain's speech. In addition to their different hairstyles, the twins could be distinguished now from their different uniforms—Jenny's green, and Megan's gold. Maquis—_former_ Maquis—stood mixed with the original crewmembers of Voyager, all in clean Federation uniforms.

"_That's why Commander Chakotay and I have agreed that this should be one crew –a Starfleet crew. And as the only Starfleet vessel assigned to the Delta Quadrant, we'll continue to follow our directive: to seek out new worlds and explore space. But our primary goal is clear. Even at maximum speeds, it would take seventy-five years to reach the Federation._"

Megan reached over and grabbed her twin's hand. Jenny squeezed back. The other officers around them stayed at attention. But seeing their subtle reactions, Jenny realized how cruel it must be, for them to see her with her sister. Most of them would probably never see any of their family members again.

"_But I'm not willing to settle for that. There's another entity like the Caretaker out there somewhere who has the ability to get us there a lot faster. We'll be looking for her. And we'll be looking for wormholes, spatial rifts, or new technologies to help us. Somewhere, along this journey, we'll find a way back._"

Janeway allowed her next order to be played over the com. "_Set a course Mr. Paris…for home_."

With the captain's finishing speech, the crew dispersed.

Jenny had insisted that Megan share her quarters, at least for a while. It wasn't uncommon for to have a roommate aboard a ship, though there were probably enough quarters on Voyager for everyone to have their own.

"Megan," Jenny asked, as they strode down the hall, "Do you think we'll actually get back home?"

"No." Megan said matter-of-factly. "But what can we do? We're alive. We have each other. I can't ask the universe for anything more."

"What about the war?" Jenny looked at her sister. "You were _devoted_ to that cause, Megan."

"Devoted to it," Megan confirmed, looking back at her. "Prepared to die for it. Suppose in a way I _have_ died for it. I'll just have to," she made a surrendering face. "find a new way to make a difference."

"Well," Jenny said after a moment. "You can probably do that here, by helping the other Maquis adjust."

"That does seem to be my function a lot of the time," Megan agreed.

As they turned a corner, Jenny mused, "Guess it's almost a blessing in disguise we're out here. Maybe having us aboard will guilt-trip all the Maquis and Starfleet's into keeping from throttling each other."

Megan seemed apprehensive. "I wouldn't hold your breath. Some people have a _lot_ of hatred for Starfleet. I've no idea how Torres, Seska, or Dalby are gonna cope…and _Suder_…"

They continued on to their quarters, conversing about their new life aboard Voyager.

"Hey," Jenny offered. "How about some Philly cheese steak pizza for dinner, my treat. I probably can't make it quite as good as Dad, but I'll do my best to imitate."

Megan grinned. "It has been far too long since I've had a slice of Philly cheese steak!"

* * *

**A/N: Special thanks to Chrissie's Transcripts site, which had the script for "Caretaker" posted. I referred to the script to make Jenny and Megan's experiences match up with the events of the episode. The Trek Core website also helped, as looking at screencaps from the episode helped remind me of who was in which places, at what times. **

**Most of the characters in this story are from the show; recurring characters, guest stars, or people we've seen walking in the background. I made up names for a few who were not named onscreen. The only characters who I made invented from scratch were Sully, Eem, and Lt. Tarrotz. **

**And yes, there is such a thing as Philly cheese steak pizza. I worked at a pizzeria that served it. (It wasn't bad.) **


End file.
